Dead Sacrifice
by MiNiTaRd TrIbE
Summary: This is my first story, so please don't degrade it too much...sasukexsakura, told in Sasuke's view r&r. I over-estimated it to the teen rating just in case! oneshot. I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS!


It all began going downhill the moment I woke up that morning. It was Saturday morning, and I had absolutely no intent to report to Tsunade's office as she requested. After all, it was probably to do some pitiful D-Rank mission with the bunch of idiots I called teammates, or at least, whom I used to call teammates.

So, against my better judgement, I readied for the day and headed out the door. It was a bright and cheery morning in the Hidden Leaf Village, and so were all the people in it. Except, that is, me. But of course, I hadn't been happy in a very long time or anything even close, so this didn't effect my spirits at all.

I headed out in no particular direction when I ran into one of my more-commonly-seen familiar idiots.

"Oi, Sasuke" he screamed at the top of his lungs (as usual).

In reply to his outburst, I raised a hand in acknowledgement and walk right on by, knowing that he would follow me anyways.

"What's up with you this morning? Wake up on the wrong side of the coffin?" he asked, throughly intending to start an all-out war.

"Hn," I said, not containing the will to throw any insults at him.

He looked at me like I was crazy for not having said something insulting back (which is actually pretty pathetic) and put his hands behind his head.

"Looks like someone's not having the best day ever, and it hasn't even begun yet!" Naruto said, attempting to have an actual conversation with me (but it never works anyways...)

I replied with silence, not wanting to agree with him. After all, just because today was suck-tacular didn't mean I had to agree with anything he said. After all, I have way too much pride to stoop to his incredibley low level.

"See ya," I said, and before he could reply I poofed away into a tree near the training grounds: Team 7's to be exact. It hadn't been used a whole lot since the team spilt, but it was used every now and then. I often came there as a place to think when I really needed to, and it was pretty much the only place I could since I returned from Orochimaru and beating my brother, Itachi. And because I beat my brother was pretty much the reason I came here to think so much. With him and my revenge out of the picture, I had no purpose in life left except to slave away like the rest of the fools in this village. So, what in heaven's name was the point?

I didn't actually realize that someone else had been in the training grounds before me except when I felt a presence suddenly below me. At first I tensed, thinking it was an enemy, but then I realized that there was only one person who could have such good chakra control.

"Sakura," I said flatly, staring in the opposite direction.

"Sasuke," she said in soft tone. Not one full of any sort of emotion, but it was barely above a whisper.

I stood on the branch, about to poof away someplace else, when she said to me, still barely above a whisper,

"It's alright. Stay here, I'll leave. I'm really sorry for bothering you, Sasuke."

Today seemed to be a day full of surprises. The Sakura I once knew would have attacked me by now with attempts to date me, or screamed for me to not go and stay with her. But in her words, she mentioned nothing about me staying with her, only that I could stay and that she would gladly leave me in peace, utterly timid. Because of this, I turned to face her for the first time since she arrived.

She wasn't wearing her normal dress, but was instead wearing a pink kimono with red leaves on it. Her hair, which was not yet to her waist, was hanging loosely. She wore cherry blossom earrings and regular black ninja shoes. Her headband, which was usually found in her hair, was nowhere to be seen. Her face held a look of curiosity and grace along with her pink hair and stunning emerald eyes. In a word she was well, breathtaking.

And that's exactly how I felt, or how, at that moment in time, I wish I hadn't felt when I saw her. After all, even though she was from another important clan to the Hidden Leaf, she was nothing compared to the Uchiha clan.

I really wanted to ask her why she was dressed so, but it seemed like it would have shown I cared. Pride and arrogance was the only thing left in me ever since I killed my brother.

I sat back down on the branch, indirectly telling her I didn't plan on going anywhere and that she could leave. I looked away in the other direction, disbelieving that I stared at her for so long without meaning to. It was what one would call a feeling that Uchiha's rarely ever feel...embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I must leave now," she said, dread apparent in her voice.

"Hn," I said, not really knowing exactly what I should have said to her.

She turned to leave, but stopped suddenly after a few steps. She hesitantly turned back in my direction, causing my attention to turn back to her.

"Sasuke I was wondering if..." she seemed to be hesitating.

I stared at her expectantly. After all, she did call my attention to her. It had better be really important.

"What?" I asked, impatient with her already.

She looked me in the eye, smiling slightly. By this one look, holding so many emotions, she confused me.

"Nevermind. I'm sorry to cause you any trouble. I'll see you later," she said and was gone.

The rest of the day I spent basically in that tree. I had to do too much thinking, and not a lot of time to do it. After all, the day after tomorrow I would have my free reign back and would be able to go on higher ranking missions. Until then, I would have abosolutely nothing to do but sit and wait.

It seems that my future would take a different turn when I finally decided it was about time to go home and grab something to eat when Kakashi appeared.

"Hello Sasuke. It seems that Tsuande was right, you are just lazying around doing nothing today."

"Get to the point."

"Alright, no need to get pushy. Tsunade wants Team 7 in her office now. She says it's an important assignment."

I sighed and began my way towards Tsunade's office. Even though it was an important assignment, there was no reason for me to rush my butt off to get there. After all, Tsunade said that eating your vegetables is important, but look at Naruto. All he ever eats is ramen and he's perfect fine (then again, that's not including his brain).

I made it outside Tsunade's door quickly enough and decided that I would just try and get this over with quickly. I knocked and didn't bother waiting for a reply. I entered the room to find that Naruto and Sakura, who was back in her old clothes, in front of Tsunade's desk.

"What's the assignment," I asked, always one to get to the point.

"I was explaining that, twerp," she said, apparently not in the mood for joking.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was explaining that a local cemetery need sprucing up. It hasn't been cleaned as long as I've been here, and no one else is open to the job. I'm putting you three on it because I know you all will get the job done, and get it done fast. It's classified as a D-Rank mission but-"

She stopped when she saw me heading for the door. What was the point of doing another pointless mission? Why not get some poor and defenseless Genin to do it?

"Sasuke, make another move out that door, and you're looking a D-Rank missions for the rest of your little backstabbing life. So get your freaking butt back over here or I'll have you penalized even further. Understood jackess?"

See. I really wasn't kidding when I said she wasn't in the mood for fun and games today.

I walked back over to her while she showed the other two a map of which graveyard we would be cleaning. I already knew the way to the graveyard in question, so I was getting extremely impatient. After all, this graveyard was the one where all the clans in Konoha were buried, even the most noblest of all such as the Uchiha.

"And when you're done, be sure to report back to my office quickly so I can scratch that off the D-Rank scroll, understood?"

Naruto and Sakura bowed while I tipped my head. We exited the office and made our way over to the Team 7 training grounds. It would be easiest to access the graveyard there, and most likely the safest way as well. After all, the other side of the graveyard had some simple traps set for burgulers or any other type of intruder.

It wasn't long before we reached the desired place. It seemed that what Tsunade said was true and that most of the tombstones were extremely filthy and grimy. However, a couple look refurnished and well taken care for.

"Well, let's split up. The job will get done faster that way," Naruto said in a dull tone.

I nodded and autmiatically headed out for the north side of the graveyard. My family's tombstones lied there, and I didn't want anything a clumsy idiot like Naruto anywhere near them. Out fo the corner of my eye I saw Naruto take the west side and Sakura take the east. Judging by the size of each section fo the graveyard, this was going to be a simple task.

I arrived at the site of my family's graveyard, which was hidden back towards a separate valley. There was an undergrowth of trees blocking the path, but they were easily dodged by a ninja of my class. I came to a stop scarcely a few feet from the nearest tombstone, only to find that not some of the graves, but all of them were presentably clean. I wasn't really surprised, but rather curious as to who had done this. And also, why would anyone want to do this? My clan was one of the most respected, but I was one of the most hated, which didn't make sense for anyone to clean them.

I looked around and located my mother and father's. I walked over to it, studying each grave as I walked past. Judging by the way each looked, they had been cleaned resently, maybe a day at most. Also whoever had done it was an expert it seemed and cleaned every place on it. It seemed fitting that they be so clean since today was the anniversary of the massacre.

When I reached my mother and father's graves, I leaned by back against it and sat down. It was so simple, but it puzzled me that anyone would care so much as to clean the graves of the Uchiha. I mean after all my brother and I had done, wouldn't Uchiha be one of the most shunned name in all of Konoha? But there was really no sense in worrying about it. After all, what is done is done.

I got up and was about to move on to clean the rest of the graves in my side of the graveyard when I heard a rustling noise. I tensed and slowly took out a kunai. I was about to thrust in the direction of the noise when Sakura entered through the underbrush. I relaxed and shoved the kunai back in my holster.

"Don't do that unless you want to die," I said, being the straightforword person that I am.

She nodded in reply, not saying anything. She looked as if she was rather depressed about something, but I had no experience in trying to sort out a person's emotions. After all, the only emotions I had felt for years was hatred and anger.

"I didn't mean to startle you like that. I just thought that you might need some help. I'm already finished with my side of the graveyard so I'm free to help if you want."

I placed my hand on top of my parents' stone. It sounded stupid, but I had a desire to get the question answered.

"These graves, and only these graves were cleaned when I arrived. Do you know who would do something like this?" I said, feeling my Sharingan activate.

Sakura appeared to be trying to remain calm. She was actually doing a great job, but my senses were telling me that something was wrong.

"I don't know. Maybe someone else had come to visit them?"

"No. No one cares about the Uchiha's anymore."

She muttered something I couldn't understand. I had a feeling that Sakura knew something that she wasn't telling me.

"Sakura, you're testing my patience. Tell me who did this."

She looked me in the eye, but lost her nerve against my Sharingan and stared hard at the ground instead.

"I was the one responsible for the graves, I'm sorry," she said, in a voice that was filled with quiet calmness.

The Sharingan left my eyes and the worry that someone had been ravaging the Uchiha graves escaped me only to be replaced by undenying curiosity.

"Why bother? You having no reason to come here often, anyway."

She turned and sat in a deserted spot off from where the graves stood. She looked at the ground the whole time she spoke.

"The night of the Uchiha massacre, my parents died. They were beaten to death, and then decapitated. There was blood everywhere, along with numerous bodies of the Haruno clan. However, no one really knew that they died because the Uchiha clan died the same night and of course they were of much more importance than the Haruno clan. So in that case, my clan's deaths were never known by many."

She looked at the ground, but I could see wet tears hitting her knee.

"My parents, grandparents, and all my living relatives died. I had no one left to depend on, and decided to try to make it on my own and forget the pain that made me an orphan. Every year I would come to this graveyard and clean my family's graves. But then, I thought of how much pain you were in Sasuke," she looked up at me," and I knew you were in much worse pain than I was. I actually found this place on accident, not really knowing that this was here. But seeing that these were the graves of the Uchiha clan, I was astonished to see that they were so dirty. So I cleaned them every year, knowing that they deserved the same respect my family deserved."

She looked back down at the ground, trying to wipe the tears away with the back of her hand.

"I know it's not a very good excuse, but I truely didn't mean any worry to you at all, Sasuke."

This whole time, I stood there, thinking to myself about the past. How come I didn't think of cleaning the Uchiha graves before? Shouldn't I have noticed that the graves were getting extremely dirty, or that they were miraculously restored each year?

But then, the thought hit me straight on. I wouldn't have known if she had really cleaned the graves because even though I knew where the graves were located, I hadn't been there in over a decade to clean them. And that was why I never knew of Sakura's sacrifice. Her clan was not even acknowledged because of mine, but she cleans the graves anyway.

"The villager's...disagreed that I should be cleaning the graves of the Uchiha clan and tried to persuade me not to do it. They taunted me often enough, and some had the nerve to attack me at random throughout the village. Then one night they burned down my house and warned me never to take one step on Uchiha property again. But I was too stubborn, and told them that just because they might have done some horrible things, it doesn't mean they don't deserve the same rights that we all share."

I knelt down to Sakura's level, and pulled her into a soft embrace. At first she as extremely stiff, but she soon relaxed.

"Why do that for me? What put up with all of that just for the sake of my family? Why did you deal with them taunting you? Why didn't you just stop it, Sakura?" I said in a rush.

She embraced me back as she answered my questions.

"I...really don't know why I did it, but I felt that it was my duty to do so and that maybe one day, you would realize what you had in Konoha that you didn't need to leave to find."

Her words at first stung me, even though they were words of absolute truth. I let go of the embrace, but still pulled her to me. She was somewhat sitting on my lap facing me now, and almost facing the other way.

I gently brushed the hair out of her face. She was such a lover of self-sacrifice, and I could never compare to such inner beauty.

She leaned on me, and I embraced her closer to me. She snuggled as close as she could and closed her eyes. It seemed that she was absolutely exahusted. A sudden thought popped into my head.

"So, I figure you were cleaning the graves this morning."

She nodded against me, and I pulled her away just enough to where she was facing me. She still had her head tilted down, staring at the grass. I lifted her chin so she looked directly in my eyes.

I wasn't really sure what came over me that day, but it was something that I felt needed to have been done a long time ago.

I kissed her with all the emotions of gratefulness and kindness that I hadn't known existed before within me. We embraced each other fully, only stopping to breathe. I put my forehead to hers, and she to mine.

"If I realized that I had missed this in my life, then I never would have taken one step outside this village."

She smiled and caught me in another gentle kiss.

Life, it seemed, was a great a powerful thing.

And later I figured out, so was love.

"Love can make people do crazy things, but it's worth it if you can find it in unexpected places."


End file.
